Thank you Chris and Colemyst for the comments. I really do appreciate everyone hanging in there with this story. For the next few chapters I should probably acknowledge that I have absolutely no medical knowledge...especially old west medical knowledge, so please forgive any silly mistakes.

"Enough!" Buck shouted, as he saw Ezra topple from Chaucer and land with a thud. Three of his friends were down. Wilmington stood tall and fired a perfect shot into the heart of the one remaining Spikes' family member.

Buck didn't know what to do. Who did he go to first? Were any of them even still alive?

Someone calling, "Buck," finally brought him out of his stupor. It was Vin, and a more beautiful sound Wilmington had never heard.

He was covered in blood, but the fool Texan was on his feet. Buck ran to support the smaller man, his own painful, burned legs forgotten in the adrenaline rush. "Where ya hit, Vin?"

"Shoulder," Vin hissed and said between clenched teeth, "I don't think Mrs. Wiles was a particularly good shot."

"Lucky for us," Buck smiled and grabbed Vin's handkerchief. He gently sat Tanner on the ground and pulled back his shirt to see the angry wound. The bullet had gone through, and the Texan was losing blood fast. He placed Vin's handkerchief against the exit wound and said, "lean back against the rocks," hoping that would hold the compress in place. Buck then placed his own handkerchief over the entry wound and lifted Tanner's hand up on it, "Vin, can you hold this while I check out Chris and Ezra?"

Vin shook his head, "yeah, go."

As Buck grabbed Chris' arm to drag him closer to Ezra, he had flashbacks of the war. Both men were gut-shot or close to it, and Wilmington was about to pass out himself from the amount of blood. It was absolutely everywhere. "No time for this," he said out loud, as he gathered himself. Buck laid them flat, pulled up their shirt tails, and began to examine their injuries.

Chris had been shot in the lower-left abdomen. Standish had been shot through the left side, as he was turning to fire. Standish's shot had found its mark and killed Tom Spikes, but not before Spikes' bullet had left its own ugly, bloody mark.

"Buck?"

Wilmington knew what Vin was asking. "They're alive, Vin, but they're bleedin' bad and the bullets are still in 'em."

"Let me help."

"No!" Buck screamed. "Don't you dare move. 0.44's make a big-ass hole comin' out, Vin, and if we don't get that bleedin' stopped….well, then you're gonna be in as bad of shape as these two."

Vin had to admit that he was feeling pretty poorly. If he even so much as moved his head, the surrounding landscape danced and blurred in front of him. He couldn't pass out. He should try to make it over to where Chris and Ezra were. If his friends were dying, he wanted, needed, a chance to say goodbye. "Damnit!" he slammed his head into the rocks behind him and cursed the situation and his own weakness.

Buck poured some water and whiskey over Ezra's and Chris' wounds. Ezra was starting to stir as he pressed down hard on the bullet hole with Standish's handkerchief. He was leaning hard on Chris' wound with his other hand and Chris' handkerchief.

"Ezra?" Buck questioned as the gambler moaned and tried to roll away from the pain. "You gotta stay still Ezra. I know it hurts."

All three of them had already lost too much blood. Chris' face was a ghastly gray color, and Ezra and Vin's pallor were only a shade or two better.

Buck said a silent prayer for someone to come and help him. He couldn't do this on his own. Maybe he could save Vin, if he focused on tending the tracker's wounds and stopping his blood loss. But that would mean leaving Chris and Ezra to die. What was a man to do?

Even if he made the rational decision to leave Chris and Ezra and help Vin, Buck knew Tanner wouldn't hear of it and would send him right back. Hell, he would do the exact same thing in Vin's situation. No, he had to stay here…and try.

Standish had passed out again, and he looked much younger in sleep. Where the hell had Ezra even come from today? And why was he by himself? Damn fool risked, and likely gave, his own life to come and rescue us…..and Chris isn't even awake to see it. Standish still thought Larabee held a grudge about his desertion at the Indian Village. Buck knew that wasn't the case, but he sure did wish that his old friend could have seen Ezra this morning. Wilmington couldn't help himself. The tears started to fall...out of frustration and fear. Ezra didn't deserve to die like this, and neither did Chris. Larabee, too, looked like a younger man lying on the cold ground before him. He didn't look much older than the Chris Buck had met 12 years earlier. That blond-haired fool had survived so much: the war, his wife and son's death, his battle with Fowler, his incarceration as inmate 78, and numerous bar fights and shootouts. Buck smiled, thinking back on some of the memories, but he couldn't believe that Larabee had made it through all of that only to die out here in the middle of nowhere.

"Buck," Vin cried weakly. Wilmington seemed to be in a world of his own, so Vin tried to command his voice to be louder, "Buck!"

It worked. Wilmington heard the urgency in Tanner's voice. "What….what's the matter?"

"Someone's coming." Vin could hear horses approaching. He didn't know if it was more of the Spikes' clan. It could be the two men who went scouting yesterday, or the four youngsters who turned tail and ran…..changing their mind and returning to avenge their family.

Buck left Ezra and Chris long enough to gather their weapons and give Vin his Mare's leg. Buck sat his own rifle right beside him, then went back to tending his two wounded friends.

Vin heard a familiar voice say, "this way. The cave is over here." JD.

Wilmington didn't even try to hide the tears when he saw the three riders stop and dismount their horses.

Nathan could see that things were bad. "Buck?"

"All three of 'em got shot, Nathan….and lost a hell of a lot of blood. Vin's clean through the shoulder and Ezra and Chris in the abdomen. Bullet's still in Chris and Ezra."

"Follow me, JD," Nathan instructed, as he approached the first of their injured comrades. "Here Vin, drink some water," Nathan held up his canteen to the pale Texan's lips. "I'm gonna give you a dose of laudanum, and then I'm gonna lay you on your side."

"No," Vin started to refuse the pain-relieving medicine.

"We ain't got time to argue, Vin. I got a lot of patients to tend to," Nathan interjected sternly but then gently put his hand on the tracker's good shoulder. "Laudanum sometimes slows blood loss, and it's gonna help with the pain when I clean and stitch the wound."

Nathan instructed, "JD, keep pressure on both wounds. We gotta get the bleeding slowed down. I'll stitch him up after I check out Chris and Ezra."

"Got it," answered JD, as he marveled at the size of the hole in Vin's shoulder. The hole coming out was 5 or 6 times the size of the bullet wound going in. Vin did his best not to yell out as JD applied pressure. He kept telling himself that they were trying to help, and he needed to be quiet so he could hear what was going on with his other wounded friends. It wasn't easy though; the pain was intense, and he was actually beginning to look forward to the laudanum taking effect.

"How you doin' Buck?" Nathan said as he approached the ladies' man.

"I'm fine," Buck looked up at the tall healer and Josiah standing over him, "but they're in bad shape Nathan."

"Why don't you take a break for a few minutes, and Josiah and I will take a look." Buck's hands, arms, and clothes were covered in his friends' blood.

"They're both still breathin', but their heartbeat's fast and weak," Nathan shook his head, "they're losin' way too much blood." He sat back on his heels and sighed. Where did he start? The bullets were going to have to be removed from Ezra and Chris. The source of their bleeding was also going to have to be determined and repaired. Vin still needed to be stitched up. What did they tell him in the Army? Help those that can be saved. "Josiah, keep pressure on Ezra and Chris' wounds. I'm gonna get Vin sewed up."

The laudanum had taken effect, but Vin was still awake. "Ya think you can hold him still, JD?" Nathan asked the youngster.

"Yeah, sure Nate, I can hold him." JD replied but wasn't really as confident as he sounded. He knew Buck needed the break, and Josiah was busy with Chris and Ezra...so he would give it his best shot.

Nathan decided not to stitch the entry wound, since it wasn't very large. He cleaned and bandaged it well and turned his attention to the gaping hole in the lean man's back. Despite the laudanum and JD holding down with all his might, Vin bucked and screamed when the needle pierced the swollen, tender flesh. He fought through the first two stitches, and then finally succumbed to the pain and blood loss.

"Thank God," Nathan said when Tanner finally passed out. He quickly finished sewing and re-cleaned and bandaged the area. He then took a deep breath and readied himself for the next task.

"How're they doin' Josiah?"

Buck had cleaned up and changed shirts and returned to his friends' sides.

"I think Ezra's bleeding is slowin' down," the big preacher replied.

Nathan knelt down and said, "let me take a look." Josiah was right. It had slowed considerably. "Let's get the bullet out of Ezra then and close him up. Josiah, keep the pressure on Chris. Buck, can you hold this over Ezra's nose and mouth?" Nathan handed Buck a cloth he had soaked in chloroform. He hoped Standish's lungs and heart were still strong enough to tolerate the anesthetic.

Buck held the cloth and watched as Nathan's strong hands went to work. Once the incision was made, it took only a couple of minutes before the healer located the bullet in Ezra's side. It had broken one of Standish's ribs, but the projectile did not appear to have injured the kidney or other nearby organs. Nathan quickly cleaned the area and stitched up the 5" incision, praying that infection would not set in.

Nathan then had Buck move over and do the same with Chris. The gunslinger was so pale; as pale as Nathan had ever seen a living human being. Josiah stepped aside, as the healer made a 6-inch incision across Larabee's abdomen. The blood loss had slowed a bit, but not enough that Jackson was confident no organs had been damaged. It was difficult to find the injuries and the bullet with blood still filling the abdominal cavity. Nathan soaked up as much as he could with clean cloths, and when he made it to the upper left quadrant he saw it. Chris' spleen had been grazed. He saw the bullet lying just behind it against a rib, which had also been broken like Ezra's. There were hairline cracks on two of Chris' lower ribs as well, obviously not caused by the gunshot. The healer had bigger concerns and thus didn't dwell on what had caused those injuries. Nathan quickly removed the 0.45 caliber slug, and admitted, "I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean, Nathan?" Buck asked.

"I think this is his spleen that got nicked, and folks can live without it," Nathan paused and took a deep breath, "but I ain't got the know-how to do a surgery like that."

"We have faith in you, Nathan," Josiah offered.

"I appreciate that Josiah," Jackson replied as he put pressure on the leaking organ, "but I don't have the proper tools or environment either. I'm just gonna have to suture the graze and see if it holds."

"And if it doesn't?" Buck questioned quietly.

"The spleen could rupture," Nathan stopped and look up into Wilmington's blue eyes, "in which case Chris would bleed uncontrollably…..and likely die."

It was hard for Buck, but he kept his eyes locked with Nathan's and replied, "like Josiah said, we trust you Doc. Do what you think is best."

Nathan shook his head and went to work. He carefully sutured the 2 inch gash, putting stitches as close together as he possibly could. He cleaned the area once again, and the sutures seemed to have stopped the bleeding. Doing his best to steady his nervous hands, the dark-skinned healer sewed up the abdominal incision, and again prayed for a miracle.

Buck, Nathan, and Josiah looked down at their gravely-injured friends and knew they had a long road ahead of them to get Chris, Ezra, and Vin recovered and back home.

"Let's get them into the cave," Nathan instructed, "we'll stay here at least tonight, and then see how they're doin' tomorrow…."

Josiah stood. "Take a rest, Nathan, and clean up. Buck, JD, and I will move our injured brothers."

"Thanks Josiah." Nathan was just going with the flow until now….doing what needed to be done. The gravity of the situation hit him all of a sudden. He sat down next to the creek and looked at the blood all over his hands and his clothes. He honestly didn't know if folks could lose that much blood and survive. Had all of his work on Ezra and Chris been for nothing? Did he succeed in extending their lives….only to have them slip away in a few hours or a day or worse? What if they just never woke up?

"Supper'll be ready in about 10 minutes," Nathan flinched when Josiah placed a hand on his back.

How long had he been sitting here? All of the men were settled into the cave, and Josiah had managed to heat up some food. He finished cleaning up, changed his clothes, and joined his friends.

Nathan couldn't help but smile when he saw Vin sitting up eating some beans. "How're you feelin', Vin?"

"I'm all right Nathan," the quiet man replied.

"Ya still dizzy?"

"Yeah, but I can manage so long as I'm leanin' against somethin'."

"That's good to hear," Nathan smiled again and nodded his thanks to JD who was sitting within arms' length of Vin in case he did pass out, "food should help build your blood back up, so eat as much as you can." Jackson wanted to get as much food and water into Vin tonight as they could. He knew the tracker would likely have a fever come tomorrow and may very well not feel much like eating.

"Think you should take your own advice, brother," Josiah said as he handed Nathan a biscuit and a cup of beans. Sanchez prayed that their friends would make it through….as much for Nathan's sake as for their own. That was too much weight for any one person to bear, especially a man as young as Jackson.

Buck was eating his dinner and keeping watch on Chris and Ezra. Neither of them had regained consciousness since the surgeries, and Buck knew the effects of the chloroform should have worn off long ago. All three of the injured men had been cleaned up and changed into their spare clothing, so it really just looked like Larabee and Standish were sleeping.

Josiah had mentioned the burns on Vin, Chris, and Buck's legs to Nathan, so the healer tended those wounds after supper.

"Why didn't you or Buck say anything earlier?" Nate questioned the tracker. They had lain Vin back down on his bedroll once he had finished eating.

"Seemed like a minor problem compared to the bullet wounds," Vin answered honestly.

"Burns get infected easily," Nathan said and Tanner jumped as the healer poured carbolic over his upper legs.

"Damn Nathan," Vin wanted to rip his own legs off right now, and he knew he would have passed out had he not already been lying down.

He soon heard a loud, "Aaaaaaaaaah!" from Buck, as Nathan did the same thing to him.

The burns were large in area, covering the men's entire thighs and knees, and they were fairly deep. Nathan wasn't a burn expert by any means, but he would guess they were at least what real doctors would call second-degree burns. The thin amount of skin that remained was red, raw and blistered. Larabee was the only one who didn't complain as the wounds were cleaned, debrided, and bandaged. Nathan would have to re-check the wounds daily and remove any additional dead skin and tissue. They would also need to keep a close eye out for infection. Damn, these men need a hospital right now, thought Nathan, not to be tended by an ex-stretcher bearer in a dirty, old cave.

The painful screams and horrible-looking wounds were starting to get to JD, so he volunteered to patrol the area outside and make sure none of Spikes' clan had returned. He, Josiah, and Buck had buried the dead family members before supper. JD trusted Nathan's skills, but he still worried for his friends. He had only known these six men for a year, but they were already like family, like brothers, to him. Chris and the boys had been so worried that something bad would happen to him….that he would die young. They never worried about something bad happening to THEM, but here he was in that very situation.

Vin was such a wonderful and patient teacher. The Texan had taught JD so much, and not just about tracking. He taught him what it means to be a good man and a good friend. He taught him the importance of being honest and listening to your gut.

Ezra, on the other hand, taught him that lying sometimes had its purposes. The southerner was fiercely intelligent, and he made "downtime" fun in Four Corners. Standish was a lesson in patience for all of the seven. How the man loved to push buttons…..but JD thought it was good for the others (and himself) to be aware of their faults; it made them work to be better men.

Chris – now there was an enigma. The man in black was not at all what JD expected. He knew of Larabee's reputation before riding out to the Indian Village that day, but in reality Chris wasn't anything like the stories' had suggested. Sure, he could be downright mean and brutal with the bad guys, but Larabee cared deeply for those in his inner circle….maybe too deeply. In stark contrast to his exterior persona, Chris actually seemed to be the most emotionally-fragile of the seven.

Before JD's mind had a chance to wander to Buck and what could have happened to him today as well, reality interrupted him. The Bostonian took off at a full run when he heard a loud crash from the vicinity of the cave.